Uta hesitated before riveting the final piece onto the mask before him.

Normally he handled his commissions in his own vision of the person who came in. But this one was different.

He hadn't even heard the door open, much less smell the ghoul that entered his studio a few minutes after he'd closed. That alone was enough to make him suspicious when he turned to see the figure in is doorway. Though their face held innocence enough, their sclera were pitch and a long blood red tail moved slowly behind them; a simple Bikaku. And as for a gender… he couldn't tell; flat chested with a simple tank top, as well as long, tight fitting pants. Their hair was long and wavy, but nappy and not well taken care of. Their face had sharp lines, but was as androgynous as the rest of them.

"Sorry but the studio is closed." His posture stayed neutral. He'd dealt with cannibals in his studio before. But the ghoul pulled a tattered sketchbook from its jacket and laid it on the counter, keeping its distance as it slid the well-worn book towards him.

It was open to a specific page of a mask sketch. It was simple, but odd. The face was blue and plain, save for four eyeholes covered with a fine black mesh for visibility outwards, but not inwards. A swift glance up at the ghoul, standing so still at the end of the counter, showed a lack of said extra eyes. But he looked back to the drawing, his eyes drawn to the most prominent feature. Two long, onyx horns curled off of either side of it, like ram's horns.

Simple enough.

"I can do it." He sighed, "Though I wish you'd come earlier. I closed a little while ago."

The ghoul looked down at its feet and nodded. Their arms moved behind their back; apologetic. Uta felt a wave of exasperation, but motioned the ghoul over, "Alright, come over here and let me take some measurements."

He posed a couple of questions, but the ghoul stayed silent, shaking its head when he asked it simple yes or no questions. To others, it simply pointed at its throat.

Mute? Perfect. Yet he kept his demeanor cool. He even offered a notebook for them to write in, but they simply denied it. Once he had everything he needed, the ghoul tore out the mask's page in the sketchbook, leaving that page on the counter before slipping out the door as silently as they came in.

In short, he knew nothing about the person that would be behind this mask. He'd had difficult customers before but this one almost felt impersonal. He leaned back after finally putting the piece on and crossed his arms with a huff. He was not happy with this work at all. But he'd been glared at when he suggested small changes to the design. He knew he'd perhaps do a better one just to satisfy his need to elaborate on the design. Leave it as a display piece in his studio. As it was, he stood and draped cloth over the mask and its stand.

He picked up the yellowed page of the sketchbook and looked it over again, the paper covered with notes of his own around the design. The ghoul had talent in sketching, he would admit, but their visions seemed to be on opposite ends of a spectrum. He turned back to the covered piece and shook his head before shoving the paper behind his counter.

The ghoul who'd commissioned it likely wouldn't be back for a few days.